Water‐Splitting “Without Water”: Splitting of the Crystallised Water of Hydrated Salts
Abstract
Abstract In contrast to the liquid phase of water, the structural molecular realities of H 2 O molecules embedded in crystallised salts vary little and can be precisely determined. However, this water, which is neither in the liquid nor in the gas phase, has not yet been used in water electrolysis. Here, we demonstrate that water electrolysis can be achieved without the addition of (liquid) water through experiments with a wide range of hydrated salts and organic solvent suspensions. We obtain an excellent correlation between the position of the FTIR O─H stretch vibration of the hydrated salts and the onset of the OER potential from CV measurements. Together with first‐principles density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that intramolecular bonds in crystallised water can be effectively controlled through choice of the inorganic salt. Targeted manipulation of the bonds in the H 2 O molecule is a promising new approach to more efficient hydrogen production.
Article Details
Authors (10)
Klara Rüwe
Department of Biology and Chemistry The Electrochemical Energy and Catalysis Group University of Osnabrück Barbarastrasse 7 49076 Osnabrück Germany
Shirui Wang
Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, Great Bay University
Tom Bookholt
Department of Biology and Chemistry The Electrochemical Energy and Catalysis Group University of Osnabrück Barbarastrasse 7 49076 Osnabrück Germany
Julia Brune
Department of Biology and Chemistry The Electrochemical Energy and Catalysis Group University of Osnabrück Barbarastrasse 7 49076 Osnabrück Germany
Hannelore Schmidt
Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Laboratory for Organic Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück P.O. Box 1940 49009 Osnabrück Germany
Marius Behnecke
Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Laboratory for Organic Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück P.O. Box 1940 49009 Osnabrück Germany
Svea Petersen
Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Laboratory for Organic Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück P.O. Box 1940 49009 Osnabrück Germany
Claudia Hess
Alex M. Ganose
Department of Chemistry Molecular Sciences Research Hub White City Campus Imperial College London Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK
Helmut Schäfer
Department of Biology and Chemistry The Electrochemical Energy and Catalysis Group University of Osnabrück Barbarastrasse 7 49076 Osnabrück Germany